I do not believe that speculations on the road should deter in any way the classification of the lands as wilderness.

In the interest of perpetuating the existence of a priceless natural area, I urge support of the Metcalf bill.

Senator Moss. Thank you, Mr. Applegate. It was a very good state

ment.

This completes our list of witnesses that had indicated they wished to testify.

Senator Metcalf has a telegram that he has received from John Stajcar, that will be included in the record. It has to do with the bill, the position he stated.

(The telegram referred to follows:)

Senator LEE METCALF,

Gallatin County Courthouse,

Bozeman, Mont.

BUTTE, MONT., August 28, 1972.

DEAR MR. METCALF: Please do not change your mind about the Spanish Peaks Wilderness area. Do not allow Big Sky to ruin our beautiful virgin country just because they want to feather their own bed. This road is not necessary. Keep outdoor Montana for those who appreciate it as such, and are not looking for the "Almighty Dollar." Be a true Montanan and fight for our beautiful State.

JOHN G. STAJCAR,
Central Pharmacy.

Senator Moss. I certainly appreciate the fine testimony we have had and I want to give my colleague an opportunity to say anything he would like at the conclusion of this day's hearing. Senator Metcalf.

Senator METCALF. We are all very grateful for the very fair, courteous way in which you have conducted this hearing today. We have given everyone a chance to present his or her points of view, and I think it will be most beneficial in our consideration of the bill.

I wish to express my own very personal thanks to Judge Bill Lessley for the use of the courtroom and all the courtesies that he and his staff have extended to this committee in setting up the hearing today. And, of course, I join with you, Mr. Chairman, in expressing appreciation to all the people who have testified here, all of the audience who have participated and were so courteous and considerate. I think it has been an outstanding hearing, which is due to your presiding chairman.

Senator Moss. Thank you, Senator Metcalf. And I appreciate the fine hospitality extended to me personally and to the committee, here. This matter is a very important one, and it is not without problems and conflicts, as is apparent from hearing from various points of view. The job of a legislator is to try to reach what is as close to a consensus as possible to do the best thing for the largest number of people and make sure that no one is seriously disadvantaged. And that we will try to do. And we appreciate the assistance of all of you people for coming to express your views to us.

APPENDIX

(Under authority previously granted, the following statements and communications were ordered printed :)

MEMORANDUM FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Many persons have requested that their comments be made part of the printed record. Not all could be accommodated. This volume, however, contains a broad sampling from the mail we have received. We have tried to insure that all points of view have been included and that the weight of comments pro and con has been preserved. Those letters which were not reprinted here remain as part of the committee's file and they, too, will be considered in our further work on the problems under study.

[From the Billings (Mont.) Gazette, Mar. 24, 1971]

"GIVE LAND BACK"

WASHINGTON.-Senate Democratic Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana introduced a bill Tuesday to require railroads abandoning passenger trains to return lands given to them by the federal government.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Lee Metcalf, also a Montana Democrat, would require the return of lands given as an incentive to provide carrier services.

The bill was introduced one-day after the National Railroad Passenger Corporation announces a Railpax plan calling for the discontinuation of some passenger trains, including some in Montana.

Mansfield who denounced the plan Monday, told the Senate Tuesday that his bill "may appear to be drastic, but these railroads were given the original land grants as an incentive to provide railroad services.

"If they abandon this intention, I see no reason why they should benefit from the land grants," he said. "It is my impression that in many instances the railroads are more interested in investments and benefits associated with these lands than they are with the business of running a railroad."

Mansfield said he was "amazed and shocked at the total lack of understanding and consideration given in the Railpax plan to the less populated, rural states."

[From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Mar. 28, 1971]

HELENA.-Forty members of the Montana House gave support Saturday to a U.S. Senate bill that would require railroads discontinuing service to return their grant lands.

ExHR 7, with Rep. Leland Schoonover, D-Polson, as principal sponsor, was sent to the Rules Committee to see if it was properly introduced under limitations of the special session.

(59)

With little effort, the National Forest Preservation group collected 1,500 names on a petition calling for the federal purchase of portions of undeveloped land lying inside the National Forest Service boundaries.

[From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Mar. 30, 1971]

RAILROADS ASK CONGRESS FOR $600 MILLION YEARLY

WASHINGTON.-The nation's railroads asked Congress today for $600 million a year to avoid full-scale government takeover and put them on equal profit footing with other modes of transportation.

"The country is at a cross-roads with its railroads," said George Smathers a former Florida senator who now is a counsel to the Association of American Railroads.

"If nothing is done to restore the industry's financial viability, service will deteriorate further, earnings will decline even more, additional railroads will be forced into bankruptcy," Smathers said.

"Government takeover," he added, "would then be the only solution, since the country must have rail service."

He estimated cost of nationalization at from $27 billion to $60 billion or nearly double the projected costs of the ambitious industry proposal to save itself with government help.

Smathers, in testimony prepared for a hearing of the Senate surface transportation subcommittee, said nationalization has failed to reverse huge rail deficits in France, West Germany and Japan.

Today's session marked the start of a lengthy inquiry into the railroads' mounting problems-a probe subcommittee Chairman Vance Hartke, D-Ind., says eventually should take a searching look at the failure of the Penn Central, the nation's largest rail carrier.

Smathers presented a report by America's Sound Transportation Review Organization-ASTRO. The industry study calls for government-industry expenditures of $36 billion over the next 11 years and drastic overhaul of federal regulations.

Smathers noted four railroads serving half the country's population already are in reorganization.

Another 18 of the country's 71 major railroads are in trouble and 21 operated in the red last year, he said.

"There are two root causes of this financial crisis-an outdated regulatory system geared to a transportation monopoly that hasn't existed for decades and government spending policies that have treated other modes more favorably than railroads," Smathers said.

[From the Great Falls Tribune, Apr. 16, 1971]

FIVE COUNTIES TO FIGHT TIMBERLAND TAX ISSUE

THOMPSON FALLS.-Five northwestern counties are prepared to take their proposal for boosting assessments on private timber lands to federal courts if necessary.

According to Ralph Johnson, chairman of Mineral County commissioners, the counties have engaged attorneys to take the matter to federal court if necessary. The attorneys will be paid $10,000. Johnson told his two fellow commissioners that while he had informed the officials of the other four counties that Mineral County would not be able to participate in payment of the fee, the four others decided to include Mineral in the prospective lawsuit anyway.

The commissioners of the five northwest counties-Sanders, Lincoln, Flathead, Lake, and Mineral-are attempting to increase taxable values on private timber lands. At a recent meeting in Thompson Falls, an Idaho taxation official said timber in Idaho is assessed at $20, $40 and $60 an acre, depending on whether it is poor, good or favorable.

The northwest Montana commissioners have proposed assessed valuations of $1.50, $4.50 and $7.50 for the same timber classifications. Access to the timber is another determining factor in classifying its value class.

Sanders County Commissioner Wesley W. Sterns said that currently Burlington Northern pays only three cents per acre on much of its tree plantation holdings in the Thompson River drainage. "Under the present taxation schedule, I pay more property taxes on my home in Plains than Burlington Northern does on 10,000 acres of timber lands in Thompson River," Stearns declared.